"It's only in the last 10 year that Western science has tried to look at antioxidant activities of tea," says Dave Ringer, PhD, scientific program director at the ACS. "It's a young science. Generally, it is felt that tea can inhibit the initiation of cancer and delay its progression in animal studies. But we don't really have large well-controlled epidemiological studies to look at this yet [in humans], because you need to correct for the effects of other dietary components." Forsythia fruit is the dried seed pod of Forsythia suspensa, a lovely bright yellow flowering bush that is among the first spring blooms in many northern climates. Native to China, forsythia fruit is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for detoxifying. Because of its detoxifying qualities, forsythia fruit often finds its way into TCM formulas to support the kidneys and skin.
Green tea has many health benefits. “It contains many nutrients, including antioxidants and anti-cancer and brain-healthy compounds,” Smith reminds us. One thing is for sure: regardless of whether or not you’ll shed pounds with green tea, drink it anyway. “All teas contain many healthful nutrients; it’s one of the healthier choices for a beverage!” Smith says. The alpha hydroxy acid and zinc in this red tea are very good for the skin. You can also try applying some rooibos tea powder directly to the skin to relieve acne, pimples, sunburn or related skin conditions. Alpha-hydroxy acids can reduce the signs of wrinkles and other premature aging symptoms but they are rarely found in natural products. They are found in chemical peels, which revitalize the skin and leave it fresh and invigorated with a healthy glow. However, there has been some controversy about commercial uses of alpha hydroxy acid, so it is always better to get it from a natural source, like red rooibos tea.
Studies in laboratory animals have found that green tea polyphenols inhibit the growth of esophageal cancer cells (in line with its anti-cancer properties). Other clinical studies have found that green tea offers protection against the development of esophageal cancer, particularly among women. However, one large-scale population-based clinical study found just the opposite: drinking green tea was associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer, and the stronger and hotter the tea, the greater the risk. It seems that if the water is very hot, it can damage the esophagus and lead to long-term adverse consequences. So just make sure the tea you drink isn’t extremely hot.
If you’re struggling with any of these problems then I’m glad you found us! Our matcha contains the perfect balance of caffeine & L-Theanine, which provides a sustained energy boost and increased focus that can help with productivity (but won’t give you the jitters or caffeine crash of coffee). It’s packed with amino acids and 137x the antioxidants of brewed green tea to support a healthy metabolism, healthy skin, teeth, and bones, and fight against age-related disease.
Since some of the bioactive compounds in green tea are anti-viral and anti-bacterial, in much the same way as green tea can kill bacteria in your mouth, it can also inhibit bacteria and viruses in your bloodstream and throughout the rest of your body. Similarly, green tea may inhibit viral and bacterial infection via your nasal passages. All this means that green tea may help prevent colds and the flu, and furthermore seems to be able to alleviate the symptoms of colds and the flu once you are sick. “Red tea” is the name the Chinese use for what we in the west call “black tea.” All true tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. The differences between types of tea result from different methods of processing the leaves. For green tea, the tea leaves are steamed, rolled and dried, a method that preserves the content of polyphenols, antioxidant compounds that confer the well-known health benefits of tea. For black tea, the leaves undergo a process of oxidation that changes the color and flavor and reduces the content of polyphenols. Oolong is intermediate between green and black tea – in color, flavor and polyphenol content.
Word of Caution: Despite all of these health benefits of rooibos tea, there can be a downside for some people. Since rooibos is so powerful, it can interfere with treatments for various conditions, including chemotherapy for cancer patients. Also, rooibos has shown estrogenic activities in certain studies, so it might not be a good idea to use if you have hormone-sensitive cancer like breast cancer.
Matcha green tea is a high-grade, finely ground, concentrated green tea. It’s been traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies for hundreds of years and has recently gained notoriety for its high antioxidant content. When you drink matcha tea, you drink the actual tea leaves, which have been ground up. This allows you to obtain even more nutrients compared to drinking steeped green tea.
Diabetics lose their sensitivity to insulin, which means insulin is less effective in signaling to cells to absorb sugar from the blood stream, resulting in both higher blood sugar and higher blood insulin levels. Because both sugar and insulin are damaging to the cardiovascular system, over time many adverse effects result. (The more sensitive you are to insulin, and in general the lower your normal blood sugar level, the better.)

According to science, matcha is something of a miracle supplement. For one, it makes you feel good. One recent study examined the effects of the phytochemicals in green tea on mood and cognition. The combo of caffeine (present in most green teas) and L-theanine, an amino acid found in some teas, were found to “improve performance in attention-switching tasks and alertness, but to a lesser extent than caffeine alone,” partly because of how L-theanine chills you out.

Green tea, however, is considered to have originated in China. It is said that even today the word “tea” in China refers only to green tea, not to the general category of tea as it does in the West. China’s Yunnan province is considered to be the original home of the Camellia sinensis plant species. In fact, 260 of the world’s 380+ varieties of tea can be found in Yunnan.